


Call Me By My Name

by cyanoxile (shikinami)



Series: The Little Things [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-10-08 17:42:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17390783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shikinami/pseuds/cyanoxile
Summary: It shouldn’t be annoying to Kei—after all, he’d been called the same by other people and have felt nothing but indifference about it—but he is. [...] He’s never been bothered about it.Until now.





	Call Me By My Name

**Author's Note:**

> **This** is my actual output for クロ月の日, lmao. Again, will be betaed once I get my poop in a group, but for now please bear with the mistakes!
> 
> On the off chance that you didn't know: _megane_ means glasses, and _megane-kun_ translates roughly to "glasses boy"/"four-eyes." Even with my elementary Japanese, this sounds rude-ish (mostly because it reduces the person to just a physical aspect, kinda like if you call someone "blondie" if they're blond). Also I don't know if anybody does call Kei this since it's been a while since I watched HQ!! and I, sadly, am an anime-only heathen :s

“ _Megane_ -kun!”

Kuroo always says that epithet with a singsong lilt, more characteristic of a middle school girl than a grown man about to go to university in a couple of months. It shouldn’t be annoying to Kei—after all, he’d been called the same by other people and have felt nothing but indifference about it—but he is. Bokuto does the same. Nishinoya and Tanaka used to do so but have since decided to be polite members of society and call him properly. Only a handful of people have managed to point out or tease Kei about his glasses, thanks to his height and his usual resting sarcastic face. He’s never been bothered about it.

Until now.

Kei bends further down to reach his toes, determined to pretend that he hasn’t heard Kuroo. Facing away from the gym entrance and the background noise of people setting up at least allows him that concession.

“ _Megane_ -kun,” Kuroo repeats, this time louder, probably reaching the conclusion that Kei didn’t hear. The syllables grate in Kei’s ears, and he grits his teeth.

The reason why Kei’s annoyed isn’t because he dislikes Kuroo. In fact, he’s grateful to him, since for some reason he’s been eager to teach or assist Kei whenever they’re in the same vicinity. Akaashi too, sometimes, but he’s usually clinical and shares things only when Kei explicitly asks questions. Kuroo, on the other hand, just exudes warmth and openness. Kei wouldn’t say he’d _want_ to be in Kuroo’s team, or that he’s a better captain than Sawamura, though. Encountering him in smaller doses like in this training camp is fine, especially when he does things like call Kei—

“ _Megane_ -kun, stop ignoring me!” A pair of trainers squeak against the polished floor, and Kuroo’s shadow hovers over him.

Kei stands up and leans sideways, but before he can open his mouth, Kuroo steps back.

“Whoah, you okay _megane_ -kun? Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed or something?”

He turns towards Kuroo fully and starts stretching upwards. “Could you please not call me _megane_ -kun? It’s terribly rude.”

“Oh crap, sorry! Didn’t think it offended you,” Kuroo says with a sheepish grin, scratching at his nape. “Well, what’s your first name so I can call you properly?”

Kei pauses and peers at Kuroo’s earnest face, looking like he’s been scolded by his mother instead of an impetuous junior.

There it was, the source of annoyance. For some reason, the thought of Kuroo not knowing his name is more annoying than being called _megane-_ kun. Kei sighs, “It’s Kei. But calling me Tsukishima is enough.” He goes back to stretching, pulling his muscles upward so he could ignore the slight strain in his chest.

“So that’s how you read your name! I thought it’d be weird if I called you Hotaru. Tsukishima just has way too many syllables.”

Both of Kei’s eyebrows raise—he doesn’t expect Kuroo to actually know the character to his first name. He blinks dumbly for a moment.

“ _Megane_ -kun has the same number of syllables,” he manages, at least.

“But it’s cuter.”

Kei shakes his head and shoots Kuroo a withering stare. “Was there something you needed, Kuroo-san?”

Kuroo replies with a huge grin, “Nah, just wanted to say hi. You guys are up with Fukurodani today, right?”

“That’s right.” Kei purses his lips. “Isn’t Nekoma’s matches in the afternoon still?”

“Yeah. But looks like I lost to Bokuto on a bet so I’m helping out in setting up the gym this morning.”

Kei furrows his brows. “Bet?”

Kuroo shakes his head, as if startled. “Crap! I… gotta wake up Bokuto first.” He turns around, then looks back, chewing at his bottom lip. “I’ll see you later, Tsukishima?”

Kei smirks and resumes his stretches. “Are you asking or telling?”

Kuroo laughs. “You definitely aren’t a morning person. Later then!”

 _Weird guy_ , Kei thinks, mouth quirking at the side as he watches Kuroo’s retreating back.

* * *

Tetsurou didn’t believe Bokuto when he said Tsukishima gets particularly sullen when it’s him calling him _megane_ -kun. But everybody and their mother pretty much calls him that, and it felt too familiar to call him Tsukki like his runty best friend does. Tetsurou’s just way too fond of calling cute juniors something dumb to establish better camaraderie. Or teasing, depending on his mood.

Bokuto bet a day’s set up and cleaning work that he was right.

Last night’s blocking practice with him and Akaashi was a failed experiment though. Calling Tsukishima _megane_ -kun in the middle of a game gave Tetsurou almost no chance to observe his expressions. He didn’t know if the tenseness in Tsukishima’s shoulders whenever he called him was due to getting annoyed or expecting the ball. When Bokuto called him though, there weren’t any significant reactions. Akaashi was pretty much useless, and it would be way too suspicious if he started calling Tsukishima _megane_ -kun too.

Seeing Tsukishima’s reactions up close is a revelation. He’d ignored Tetsurou and looked pretty sour up until Tetsurou called him by his name properly.

Well, if Bokuto is going to be right this time, then it’s only fair that Tetsurou gets to annoy him to wakefulness.

Plus, the unjust hours of manual labour for Fukurodani seems more endurable if he thinks about Tsukishima’s surprising cute side.


End file.
